


james potter's #1 rule for primary school pick up

by goingmywaydoll



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, james is jealous but not really, jily never dies and harry goes to primary school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 23:45:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9630230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goingmywaydoll/pseuds/goingmywaydoll
Summary: James has one rule for picking up Harry from school and he really doesn’t think it’s that hard to follow.





	

**Author's Note:**

> an “if they lived au” where harry goes to muggle school before hogwarts. some of this is p unnecessary but i wanted cute jily parenting moments ok??

All the muggle dads love her, of course. Lily strides into class at 2:39 every day, hopelessly late. Harry stays by the coloring table mostly while Lily makes small talk, the dads trying to catch glimpses of this ray of sunshine that’s just appeared in their children’s primary school. There’s this single dad, he’s named George, or Gordon, or something with a G. Something With A G is James’s least favorite. He’s got this little girl named Charlotte that everyone calls Lottie and Harry says he likes her, she’s nice enough. She helps him with maths, wears butterfly barrettes and once Harry told her about the family owl accidentally. 

Anyway. Something With A G.

Something With A G has got blond hair and blue eyes and a bashful smile. Lily is nice, Lily is beautiful and Lily has that mischievous but adorable son with the crooked glasses and messy hair that everyone likes, even if odd things always happen around him.

And James is regretting this whole “put Harry in muggle primary school because he needs an education before he’s eleven, James!” plan. Sometimes he picks up Harry, sometimes she does, and sometimes they go together. Something With A G doesn’t like it when they go together. Well, James doesn’t like Something With A G very much at all. Especially considering he violates James’s first rule for picking up Harry at school.

No flirting.

“Lo, Greg!” he hears Lily say. Ah. So it’s Greg. Terrible name, really. James resolves to never give their future children a name with a G. Ugly letter, after all.

“Hi, Lily,” he says. James hates first name basis but he can’t bloody well do anything about it because Harry shoving his school bag at him to carry, his arms laden with a science project.

“Oi, you’re supposed to be nice to your dad,” he says to his son, taking the bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

“Who says?” Harry replies and James isn’t sure whether to be proud or worried that his ten year old son is giving him a run for his money.

“The rules,” he says vaguely.

“Of what?”

“Fatherhood.”

“There are no rules!”

“Yeah, there are! You don’t know them because you’re not a father.” He ruffles his son’s hair before Harry can dodge out of the way. “And not until you’re at least thirty five.”

Harry pauses, frowning.

“ _You’re_ thirty,” he says finally. James gapes at him.

“You are too much like your mother for your own good,” he says, nudging him and shaking his head while trying to hide a smile. Harry sees.

“Who’s Mum talking to?” he asks and James’s smile fades.

“The devil,” James mutters, quiet enough for Harry not to hear. Harry shrugs and adjusts the model of the solar system in his arms. James should perhaps be worried about the fact that Harry is holding a project that defies the logic of gravity and could probably out them as wizards to the entire school, but instead he shoots a look over at Lily again.

Greg is saying something and he can see Lily laugh. He’s happy to see it’s not her real laugh. Lily has several laughs—her _I’m being polite and pretending to laugh please fall for it_ ; her _James, stop tickling me! I married a five year old_ laugh; her _Oh Harry’s just done the cutest thing_ laugh; and perhaps his favorite, when she walks into the room and James has done something silly with their son. This one is always accompanied by her eyes sparkling and her nose crinkling as she leans against the doorframe and usually ends with smothering her husband and son with kisses. Currently, she’s using the _I’m being polite and pretending to laugh please fall for it_ laugh and Greg does seem to be falling for it. He has this pleased smile on his face that James wants to smack off.

_She’s married, you ponce_.

He catches sight of the clock on the wall and decides 2:51 is a good time to say goodbye, so he nudges Harry again and they walk over. Lily lights up when she sees them coming and he remembers that he knows why Greg is flirting with her. His wife is _beautiful_. He murmurs this in her ear as he presses his lips to her cheek and she blushes hard.

“Greg, you remember my husband James, yeah?” she asks when he pulls away. Greg nods, looking between the two silently. “And of course, you’ve met Harry.”

“We’ve met once or twice,” James says, grinning at the other man, his hand reached out to shake. Greg takes it. “Lovely to see you again, mate.”

“We were just talking about how Lottie and Harry should get together for a playdate,” Lily says, looking at him pointedly.

“Bit old for playdates,” Harry says quietly, loud enough for only his parents to hear and Lily shoots him a look. He mouths sorry before turning to James and jutting his head towards Greg, rolling his eyes. James has never been more proud.

“Will you be going to St Joseph’s in the fall then? Lottie’s quite excited for secondary school,” Greg asks, looking at Harry.

“No, I’ll be going to my mum and dad’s school,” he says proudly. Harry bleeds red and gold nearly as much as his dad does, considering he has yet to go to Hogwarts.

“Oh, well, we’ll miss you,” Greg says but he looks more at Lily than Harry and she pretends to be examining her nails. James doesn’t bother hiding his smirk. “Where’s this school then?”

“Scotland,” Harry says, puffing his chest slightly. The effect is rather adorable seeing as Harry has yet to hit his growth spurt and James can see the fondness shining out of Lily’s eyes like a beacon. 

“What’s it called?” Greg asks as James wishes he were better at making up a school on the spot.

“You know,” Lily says, “As much as we’d love to chat,” James wants to snort audibly, but resists, “We should probably be on our way.” Greg lets a look of surprise flit across his face. _Clearly_ , James thinks, _he’s gotten better at reading the room_. They say their goodbyes, Greg’s perhaps a little too polite, and finally push Harry out of the classroom. He’s telling them about his presentation on the solar system and how the teacher commended his mastery of balance in his diorama. 

“You know we’re very proud of you, love,” Lily says, exchanging a look with James as she gets into the driver’s seat and Harry buckles his seat belt.

“But maybe next time try to be a little more…” James starts.

“Inconspicuous,” Lily offers and James nods, looking at Harry in the rearview mirror as Lily pulls out of the school’s parking lot. 

“What d’you mean?” Harry asks, his brows knotted together. Lily bites the inside of her cheek as she frowns at the road and thinks on what to say. 

“Just that sometimes it’s a bit easy to accidentally use your magic at school. With the muggles. We just want to make sure you’re not defaulting on your magical abilities.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Harry mutters, looking down and twisting his fingers together.

“Oh, darling, we know that!” Lily says instantly. “It’s just something to be aware of, yeah?” Harry nods but doesn’t say anything. Lily and James exchange another look, but also stay silent for the rest of the short ride home. 

And later, when Harry’s project is proudly displayed in his room and he’s fast asleep beside it, James decides it’s safe for some teasing.

“So,” he says as Lily begins to brush her teeth. “Greg’s nice.”

Lily snorts rather unattractively (though James would beg to differ) through the toothpaste as she leans against the door into their bedroom. But she doesn’t give any other reaction until she’s done brushing her teeth and they’re crawling into bed.

“I was wondering how long you would take to bring him up,” she says as James waves his wand, shutting off the lights around the house. “I’m surprised you waited this long.”

“So am I,” he says, grinning at her through the dark as she turns to face him. 

“I’m also surprised you were so civil,” she says. “Especially when he broke the number one rule of primary school pick up.”

“I think you’re forgetting who came up with that rule,” James says. “I only adopted it.”

“Well,” Lily says, “Sharon really needed to learn how to keep her hands to herself.” James shudders at the memory before Lily softly kisses him, smiling against his lips. “Do you hate me for being a jealous cow?”

“You are _not_  a jealous cow,” James says, pulling away slightly. “Jealous maybe, but not a cow.”

“Would you prefer shrew?”

“I could be persuaded,” he says, “A very pretty shrew.”

“My husband, the romantic,” she says dryly. 

“Perhaps hag? Hag has a nice ring to it,” he continues, trying to keep his heartbeat steady as Lily inches closer to him, her hand on his chest. 

“You take that back, Potter,” she says, her lips a breath away from his. 

“Why don’t you make me,” he asks, a hand coming to rest on her hip, “Potter?”


End file.
